BARNUM extends UK tour into Autumn 2026 with Matt Rawle joining company

Bill Kenwright Ltd has announced that, due to huge demand, the major UK tour of hit Broadway and West End musical Barnum will extend until November 2026, with Matt Rawle (Cabaret, Evita, Les Misérables) playing the title role for the Autumn leg of the tour.

As previously announced, Lee Mead will star as the legendary showman P.T. Barnum when the tour opens at Theatre Royal Windsor on 3 February 2026 (previews from 30 January). Rawle will then reprise his critically acclaimed performance in the title role, first seen at the Watermill Theatre in 2024, for the autumn leg of the tour, which opens at Newcastle Theatre Royal on 12 August.

Step right up and enter the dazzling world of P.T. Barnum, where imagination and ambition know no bounds. Hand in hand with wife Charity, Barnum’s life and career twists and turns as he schemes and dreams his way to headier heights.

Barnum first took the UK by storm when it played the London Palladium, with Michael Crawford making theatrical history with a death-defying nightly tightrope walk across the stage. And now, Lee and Matt step into Barnum’s shoes and on to the tightrope! This spectacular new staging will feature an extraordinary ensemble cast of over 20 actor-musicians playing 150 instruments, acrobats and amazing international circus acts.

With direction by Jonathan O’Boyle and choreography by Oti Mabuse, The Observer called this production a “dazzling all-singing, all-juggling musical tribute to the 19th-century circus showman” in their five-star review when it premiered at the Watermill Theatre last year.

With the glorious music of multi-award-winner Cy Coleman, Michael Stewart’s lyrics and Mark Bramble’s book, Barnum features a whole host of classic show tunes including ‘Join the Circus’, ‘Colours of My Life’, ‘Come Follow the Band’, and ‘Love Makes Such Fools of Us All’.

The creative team also includes set and costume designer Lee Newby, co-choreographer Matt Nicholson, lighting designer Jai Morjaria, sound designer Tom Marshall, musical supervisor, arranger and orchestrator George Dyer, and circus director Amy Panter.

To book tickets for Barnum at select touring venues, please click here.